Co-RISK: a tool to co-create impactful university-industry projects for natural hazard risk mitigation

Abstract

Translation of geoscience research into tangible changes, such as modified decisions, processes, or policy, in the wider world is an important yet notably difficult process. Illustratively, university-based scientists and professionals work on different timescales, seek different insights, and may have a substantial cognitive distance between them. The work on Co-RISK reported in this paper is motivated by an ongoing need for mechanisms to aid this translation process. Co-RISK is an accessible (i.e. open access, paper based, zero cost) toolkit for use by stakeholder groups within workshops. Co-RISK has been developed to aid the co-creation of collaborative inter-organisational projects to translate risk-related science into modified actions. It is shaped to avoid adding to a proliferation in increasingly complex frameworks for assessing natural hazard risk and is given a robust basis by incorporating paradox theory from organisation studies, which deal with navigating the genuine tensions between industry and research organisations that stem from their differing roles. Specifically designed to ameliorate the organisational paradox, a Co-RISK workshop draws up "maps"including key stakeholders (e.g. regulator, insurer, university) and their positionality (e.g. barriers, concerns, motivations) and identifies exactly the points where science might modify actions. Ultimately a Co-RISK workshop drafts simple and tailored project-specific frameworks that span from climate to hazard, to risk, to implications of that risk (e.g. solvency). The action research approach used to design Co-RISK, its implementation in a trial session for the insurance sector, and its intellectual contribution are described and evaluated. The initial Co-RISK workshop was well received so it is envisaged to be applicable to other sectors (i.e. transport infrastructure, utilities, government). Joint endeavours enabled by Co-RISK could fulfil the genuine need to quickly convert the latest insights from environmental research into real-world climate change adaptation strategies.